Toilet flush control



y 8, 1956 E. M. GRAM 2,744,261

TOILET FLUSH CONTROL Filed April 25, 1954 I5 Sheets-Sheet 1 IN VEN TOR.

y 1956 E. M. GRAM TOILET FLUSH CONTROL 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April 25, 1954 FIG-5 INVENTOR.

sue ENE M.

ATTOE/YE Y6 y 8, 1956 E- M. GRAM 2,744,261

TOILET FLUSH CONTROL Filed April 23, 1954 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR. :uaewe M. 624M Arrvevvs V5 United States Patent This invention relates to flush valves and more particularly to an improved flush valve control structure for providing a controlled amount of discharge of water from aflush tank.

A'main'obje'ct of the inventionis to provide a novel and improved flush valve control attachment for a' flush tank, said attachment being simple in construction, being easy to install, "and, when installed, providing elfective control of the amount of water released from the tank, a'ndbeing arranged so that when operated in one direction, a full flush condition is provided and when operated "ice 2 conduit 17 responsive to the elevation 20 from its seat.

The valve ball 20 is provided with the usual elevating rod 21 which extends slidably through a guide element 22 secured by an integral collar 23 to the overflow pipe 24. The top end of the rod 21 is formed with a loop 25, and the rod is engaged by a loop 26 carried at the lower end of a rod 27 whose threaded top end 70 is engaged through a selected aperture 28 in the end portion of the operating lever 29 and is supported thereon by a nut 71.

of the valve ball The front wall 13 of the tank 11 is formed with anoperating shaft aperture 30 which receives the sleeve portion 31 of a bracket member 32. Sleeve 31 is formed with a flange 33 whichengages against an annular gasket 34 surroundingthe sleeve and positioned between the A concave ornamental nut 38 is engaged on the threads I 35 over the nut 36 and covers nut 36.

in anopposite direction, a reduced amount of discharge I of'water from -the fiush' tank is provided.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved flush valve control "attachment for a flush tank, said attachment involving inexpensive components; being st'urdy in" construction, beingadjustable'to provide a wide projects a substantial distance beyond the vertical plate range of dilferent amounts of discharge of water from the fiush tank', providing conservation of water, as only a desiredamount of water caii'beidischarged, reducing the noise accompanying the filling of the tank,.because of the shorter flush, and'being'operableibythe application of relatively small :pressure on the operating handle thereof.

Furtheriobjects and. advantages "ofithe inventionwill become-apparent from-theifollowing'. description and claims, a'nd from the accompanying-drawings, wherein:

. Figure l is'an elevational view,':partly broken away,.of a flush tank provided with. an. improved :flush valve control attachment according to the present invention.

f :Figuie12 is a top .view'of; the flush tank of Figure l with thetopcover removed. q p

; Figure- 3. is ans-inside elevational detail. view of the 'fiush, valve,controlfiattaehmememployed-in Figures 1 'a'nd2. Figure '4- is anienlarged .vertical crosssectional detail view-taken on the line 44 of Figure 1. 2.. t

.r :iFigure 5 is a fragmentary elevational view of the attachinentlshownjin Figure 3, vwith the valve control handle inrelevatedpositiony.PM; v

, Figure 6i's.,a fragmentary; per'spective'view of the flush valve control attachrnenti employed' in Figures' 1v and 2, showing. the valve control handle in normal position. Figure-l-is afrag mentary elevational detail view showingya'j-modificat ion of -the'pr'esent invention in whicha float-controlled member 'is-employed to return the flush :valvecam arm to; its normal position when the water level 'in the flush tankdrops below a predetermined 'Figure'8'i 7 dinessofri urev fl V o.

" Referringtothedrawings; 1 1 designates a'flush 'tank having "the" bottom was; 12, the front wall 13, the rear '1 wall 1 4, and'tliesi'cle walls 16, 16. Designated, at 17 is fth'e"discharg'e conduit which "is secured toithe bottom wall 12, ;asby thef'conventional fitting 18,;'said fitting in- :Ziluding a valveiseatf 19: engageablebl'j Valve ball 20, the water in the tank being discharged 'into the discharge horizontal crass} sectional view taken on 1 Designated at 39 is the valve operating shaft, said shaft shaft 39 is formed with the squared portion 41 which portion 42 of bracket member 32. Plate portion 42 is formed with a plurality of spaced pivot apertures 44'.

The valve operating lever 29 is formed with the thickened rear end portion 43 which is provided with a plurality of pivot apertures 44. The lever 29 is pivotally connected to 'the vertical plate portion 42 of bracket member'32 at a selected pivot aperture 44 in said plate portion and at a selecteclpivot aperture 44 in said lever by a suitable pivot bolt 45 which extends through the selected apertures 44 and 44' and which has a threaded shank portion extending through the lower portion of vertical plate element 42 and is secured thereto by a nut 46. I

The operating lever 29 is biased counterclockwise, as viewed in Figures 3, 5 and 6 bya coiled spring 47 connecting the end lug 48 of lever 29 to a lug 50 formed on the adjacent top corner portion of the plate element 42.

Designated at 51 is a generally rectangular cam arm having a squared aperture receiving the squared portion 41 of the valve operating shaft 39. The cam arm 51 is rigidly secured to the squared shaft portion 41 by a set screw 52, as shown in Figure 6. The square aperture 53 in the cam arm 51 is spaced a substantial distance from the center of the cam arm 51 to provide opposed portions of 'diflerent lengths on said arm,whereby the valve operating lever'29 will be rotated to different degrees for different directions of rotation of the cam arm 51, as

' trated in Figure 5 to cause the shorter portion of the cam arm 51 to engage the thickened portion 43 of the lever 29 and cause the lever to be rotated'to the position shown in Figure 5. This provides a controlled amount of discharge of water from the flush tank into the discharge conduit 17, which may be employed for rinsing the toilet bowl, or the like. Maximum discharge of water from the tank can be obtained by rotating the handle 40 clockwise, as viewed in Figure 3, to cause the longer portion of the cam arm 51 to elevate the valve ball 20 to allow 2,744,261" Patented May 8,1956 I full discharge of water from the tank. The rotation of the lever 29 is limited'by an adjustable stop bolt 55 which extends through a vertical slot 56 provided in the vertical plate portion 42 of bracket 32, the bolt 55 being located above the lever 29, as shown in Figure 6, and being adjustable in position so that the maximum upward movement of the outer portion of lever 29 may be regulated by adjusting the position of the bolt 55 in the slot 56.

The top portion of the vertical plate element 42 is provided opposite the lug 50 with a similar lug 57 in which is threadedly engaged a stop screw 58, the screw 58 being located in the same vertical plane as the cam arm 51 and the thickened portion 43 of lever 29. As shown in Figure 6, the screw 58 is inclined downwardly toward the cam arm 51 and may be adjusted to limit counterclockwise rotation of said cam arm in the manner shown in Figure 5. As shown in Figure 5, by rotating the handle 40 counterclockwise, the shorter portion of the cam arm 51 is caused to engage the thickened portion 43 of lever 29, and to cause the valve ball 20 to be elevated, resulting in a controlled amount of discharge of water from the flush tank. In its limiting position, the cam arm 51 engages the stop screw 58 at the end of the longer portion of said cam arm, as shown in Figure 5, causing a predetermined degree of rotation of the lever 29 from its normal position, shown in Figures 3 and 6, to provide a predetermined amount of discharge of water from the flush tank.

The lug 50 is provided with an internally threaded aperture 59, arranged to at times receive the stop screw 58, so that the cam arm 51 may be reversed on the squared shaft portion 41, if so desired, to reverse the action of the handle 40.

Thus, it will be seen, that by rotating the handle 40 in one direction, a full flush may be obtained, whereas by rotating the handle 40 in the opposite direction, a reduced amount of discharge of water from the flush tank may be obtained, for example, to provide only the required amount of water needed for rinsing the toilet bowl.

It will be readily understood that the attachment above described may be employed in place of the conventional handle used on a flush tank and to replace the usual mechanism for elevating the flush tank ball 20.

It will be further apparent that the amount of flow of water obtained by operating the flush valve handle 40 may be adjusted to obtain any one of a number of different amounts by employing the various combinations of adjustments afforded by use of the different pivot openings 44 in plate portion 42, the different pivot apertures 44 in the valve operating lever 29, and the adjustment of the stop bolt 55 in the slot 56 of plate portion 42.

A first adjustment is obtained by adjusting stop bolt 55 so as to allow lever 29 to lift valve 20 oif its seat one and a half inches or more. For this adjustment, stop screw 58 is adjusted to approximately the position thereof shown in Figure 5, so that the handle 40 will return to its normal position immediately upon release thereof.

A second adjustment is obtained from the arrangement of Figure 5, by adjusting stop screw 58 until the cam arm 51 is almost in a vertical position. The cam arm will remain in this position until the handle 40 is manually returned to its normal position.

A third adjustment is obtained from the second adjustment above described by adjusting the stop screw 55 so as to contact the top edge of lever 29 while the cam arm 51 is in the said almost vertical position.

A fourth adjustment is obtained by moving the pivot bolt 45 to the adjacent aperture 44 in Figure 5 and adjusting stop screw 55 as in the first and second adjustments above described and adjusting the stop screw 58 as in the first adjustment.

A fifth adjustment is obtained by adjusting stop screw 58 to the approximate position of Figure 5 (first adjustment above described). While holding cam arm 51 in the approximate position of Figure 5, the stop screw 55 is adjusted to contact the top edge of lever 29.

A sixth adjustment may be obtained by employing a cam arm 51 wherein the longer end of Figure 5 is shortened to make both ends equal. With the cam arm held in an almost vertical position, the stop bolt 55 is adjusted so as to contact the top edge of lever 29.

The right hand aperture 44 of lever 29 in Figure 5 is employed where a short lever arm at the right of pivot bolt 45 is required (and also in the fourth adjustment wove described).

Because the proper functioning of the controlled flush depends on the valve being lifted the correct distance off its seat, it can readily be seen why the adjustment of the valve-lifting rod is of great importance. Therefore, the valve lifting rod 27 has a threaded top end 70 which is engaged through a selected aperture 28 in the end por tion of lever 29, and is provided with an adjustable nut 71 engaged on said threaded top end 70.

In the form of the invention shown in Figures 7 and 8, a release lever 72 is pivoted at 73 to plate portion 42 adjacent cam arm 51'. Lever 72 is formed with a depending arm 74 through which is threaded an adjustable abutment screw engageable with the edge of said cam arm. A float ball 75 is adjustably secured to lever 72 by a rod 76 and the adjustable fastening nuts 77 and 78.

Float 75 is submerged when the tank is at its normal full level. As the water level drops to a height where it no longer supports float ball 75, suflicient force is applied to cam arm 51 by abutment screw 4 to release the cam arm and return same to its normal, or idle, position.

Nuts 77 and 78 are employed to adjust the float ball to set the desired amount of discharge and to lock rod 76 in place. A stop screw 79 is provided in plate portion 42 below lever 72 to halt the downward movement of release lever 72 when full fiush is used. As is shown in Figure 7, a lower corner of cam arm 51 is cut away at 80 to provide proper clearance when full flush is used.

While a specific embodiment of an improved valve operating attachment for a flush tank has been disclosed in the foregoing description, it will be understood that various modifications within the spirit of the invention may occur to those skilled in the art. Therefore, it is intended that no limitations be placed onthe invention except as defined by the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In a flush tank, a valve seat in the bottom of the tank, a ball valve engageable on said seat and vertically movable therefrom, said tank being formed with an operating shaft aperture, a bracket member secured to the tank and extending through said aperture, a lever pivoted to said bracket member adjacent one end portion of said bracket member, means connecting said lever to said ball valve, an operating shaft journaled in the intermediate portion of said bracket member, a cam arm secured to said shaft and being engageable with said lever to rotate the ball valve responsive to rotation of said shaft, said lever being pivoted to the bracket member between said shaft and the ball valve and extending beneath said cam arm, said cam arm having opposed portions of dilferent lengths, whereby the ball valve will be elevated by difierent amounts for different directions of rotation of said shaft, first adjustable stop means on the upper portion of said bracket member engageable with said cam arm to limit rotation thereof, said stop means comprising a stop screw threadedly engaged with said bracket member and located in the plane of the cam arm, second adjustable stop means on said one end portion of the bracket member engageable with the top edge of the lever to limit rotation of the lever, spring means biasing said lever into engagement with said cam arm, a float lever pivoted to said bracket member adjacent said cam arm, a depending float secured to said float lever, and release means onsaid float lever engageable with said cam arm responsiveto downward rotation of said float lever when said cam arm is in its ball valve-elevating position.

2. In a flush tank, a valve seat in the bottom of the tank, a ball valve engageable on said seat and vertically movable therefrom, said tank being formed with an operating shaft aperture, a bracket member secured to the tank and extending through said aperture, a lever pivoted to said bracket member adjacent one end portion of said bracket member, means connecting said lever to said ball valve, an operating shaft journaled in the intermediate portion of said bracket member, a cam arm secured to said shaft and being engageable with said lever to elevate the ball valve responsive to rotation of said shaft, said lever being pivoted to the bracket member between said shaft and the ball valve and extending beneath said cam arm, said cam arm having opposed portions of different lengths, whereby the ball valve will be elevated by different amounts for different directions of rotation of said shaft, adjustable stop means on the upper portion of said bracket member engageable with said cam arm to limit rotation thereof, said stop means comprising a stop screw threadedly engaged with said bracket member and located in the plane of the cam arm, spring means biasing said lever into engagement with said cam arm, a float lever pivoted to said bracket member adjacent said cam arm, a depending float secured to said float lever, and release means on said float lever engageable with said cam arm responsive to downward rotation of said float lever when said cam arm is in its ball valve-elevating position.

3. In a flush tank, a valve seat in the bottom of the tank, a ball valve engageable on said seat and vertically movable therefrom, a lever pivoted to said tank, means connecting said lever to said ball valve, an operating shaft journaled in said tank, a cam arm secured to said shaft and being engageable with said lever to elevate the ball valve responsive to rotation of said shaft, said cam arm having opposed portions of different lengths, whereby the ball valve will be elevated by different amounts for different directions of rotation of said shaft, a float lever pivoted to said tank adjacent said cam arm, a depending float secured to said float lever, and release means on said float lever engageable with said cam arm responsive to downward rotation of said float lever when said cam arm is in its ball valve-elevating position.

4. In a flush tank, a valve seat in the bottom of the tank, a ball valve engageable on said seat and vertically movable therefrom, a lever pivoted to said tank, means connecting said lever to said ball valve, said lever being rotatable upwardly to a first position elevating said ball valve sufficiently to provide full flush and being rotatable to a second position lower than said first position to provide limited flush, an operating shaft journaled in said tank, and a generally rectangular cam arm secured to said shaft and being engageable at its respective end edges with said lever to elevate the ball valve, the opposed portions of the cam arm being of different lengths, one of said portions being of sufficient length to elevate said lever to said first position when its end edge is in abutment with the lever, and the other portion being only of a length suflicient to elevate the lever to said second position when its end edge is in abutment with the lever.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,504,586 Thompson Aug. 12, 1924 1,992,381 Lyons Feb. 26, 1935 2,454,431 Crampton Nov. 23, 1948 2,526,294 Stegeman Oct. 17, 1950 2,645,780 Becker July 21, 1953 

